Legal Times: DC Circuit Rejects US Citizen’s Torture Suit
Summary: Late last week, a DC circuit court rejected the suit of an American citizen/contractor who claims he was tortured while in US military custody in Iraq. His suit would have held US officials – namely Donald Rumsfeld – accountable.
GAP was co-counsel in this suit, which had been allowed to go forward by a federal court last summer. GAP will update you on this case in the future.
Summary: Last Friday, Climate Science Watch’s Rick Piltz appeared on the Mike Malloy Show to talk about how the politics of climate science have changed, and not changed, since the Bush administration.
Daily Finance: Americans Are Still Paying the Tab for Countrywide’s Misdeeds
Summary: Because of Countrywide Financial’s wrongdoing – largely revealed by whistleblowers – American taxpayers are still paying: either for the bank’s financial losses, or by being stuck in bigger mortgages.
Countrywide/Bank of America whistleblower and GAP client Eileen Foster was one of the employees who stepped forward to reveal the pervasive fraud. While Foster’s case is ongoing, she recently was awarded the 2012 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.
Cincinnati Enquirer: Whistleblowers Believed Boys Were in Danger
Summary: Four workers at a now-defunct home in Ohio for at-risk boys reported major neglect, which launched a state investigation that later vindicated their concerns. The workers are now seeking protection under the whistleblower statute.
Erie Times-News (PA): Boss’ Lack of Pension Contributions Focus of Whsitleblower Lawsuit
Summary: A former employee of an Erie, Pennsylvania municipal agency has filed a whistleblower suit, saying she was retaliated against and later fired for questioning why the executive director had not made state-required pension contributions for several years.
Windsor Star (Canada): Whistleblower Cases on Rise
Summary: According to Canada’s integrity commissioner, more public sector workers are coming forward with their concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace. This continues a yearlong trend of increased whistleblower reports.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
